


dreams come true

by skywalkers



Category: Banana Fish (Anime & Manga)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Celebrity, Alternate Universe - Reincarnation, Angst and Humor, Ash isn't white in this, Background Relationships, Canonical Child Abuse, Disney Channel, LGBTQ Themes, Love at First Sight, M/M, Mixed Media, Mutual Pining, POV Alternating, Rap Music, sort of a reincarnation AU? but not what you're expecting probably
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-03-18
Updated: 2019-03-18
Packaged: 2019-11-23 11:35:09
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,699
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18151331
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/skywalkers/pseuds/skywalkers
Summary: When an 8-year-old Aslan is adopted by famous Hollywood producer Dino Golzine, he quickly becomes a child celebrity, starring in his own Disney Channel original series, "Royalty Academy". Almost a decade later, after Dino's death, the newly renamed Ash Lynx tries to break away from his image as an anodyne Disney idol.When 18-year-old Eiji Okumura comes to America for college, he doesn't expect to meet the celebrity he's had a crush on for what feels like his entire life. And he doesn't expect the reality of pain and corruption that lie beneath the beautiful story of Ash's rise to fame.





	dreams come true

Eiji was nine the first time he saw Aslan. He had walked home from school and was sitting alone in front of the TV, in the apartment he shared with his dad, nibbling on a bowl of dry cereal. He flipped between channels until he reached Disney Channel Japan, which was playing a show he’d never heard of before. A show which would change his life.

Royalty Academy was, at best, a cheesy and fun show in the style of early 2000s Disney, and, at worst, a frightening display of neoliberal materialist culture. Neither of these views mattered to nine-year-old Eiji Okumura, who, upon seeing the face of the main character Prince Aslan of Tanzaberia, decided soulmates were real. From then on, every yen Eiji saved from his allowance went towards buying Prince Aslan merchandise, which there ended up being a lot of, through the hundreds of episodes of Royalty Academy and its sequel, Royalty High. Eiji became unusually fluent in English very rapidly, in order to become a prolific poster on Disney channel online forums. If asked, Eiji would say that he was interested in the tension between Aslan’s dream of becoming a singer and his responsibilities as the heir to the throne of Tanzaberia, or that he loved Aslan’s music, but deep down, he knew he would have watched Aslan Golzine fold paper.

Eiji was an only child, something that had always saddened him. Eiji often daydreamed about having a little sister, even before his mom died, leaving him and his father alone. Hajime Okumura was a kind man, and loving to Eiji, but working as a house painter to support both of them kept him busy, and Eiji was often left alone to his own devices, a situation which allowed or forced the boy to construct a complex internal imaginary life. This fantastical world was populated by a rotating cast of characters from Eiji’s life, Disney Channel, the books he read, and the impressionistic images of his dreams; with the faithful companionship of Aslan being the only constant. Their adventures through the Realm of Dream, their rescues of the just Queen Hana (who bore an unsubtle resemblance to Eiji’s mother), the inside of their rocket ship during Eiji’s science fiction phase, their unending trust - these things felt far realer to him than reality.

Eiji was a fine student up through junior high school, but his teachers would always note in his report cards that he was some synonym of distracted. In class, Eiji would read books, in English or Japanese, whose stories he could incorporate into his fantasies. He filled whole notebooks with drawings of his adventures, of his imaginary friends and enemies, and especially of Ash. The only other thing he would devote his full attention to was gymnastics, which he attended lessons for, and which he felt allowed him to experience the sensation of flight. Somehow, at the very top of a jump or flip, there was a moment of transcendence as perfect as his dreams.

 

* * *

 

 

**ROYALTY HIGH - EPISODE 45**

_SCENE: Qing Yao-Si and an entourage of princesses are picnicking in a pavilion, with the Royalty High Palace in the background._

PRINCESS #1: Oh Yao-Si, your hair looks so beautiful today!

PRINCESS #2: Will you eat this muffin I baked for you? It has fresh blueberries, your favorite!

PRINCESS #3: Oh yes, and eat this bento box I made for you too!  _[the BENTO BOX features salmon cut in the shape of hearts on top of white rice]_

QING YAO-SI: _[Dramatic sigh.]_ Oh, princesses… thank you for your kindness, but I couldn’t possibly eat today!

PRINCESSES: _[Speaking over each other.]_ Oh Yao-Si! Why not!? Are you okay?

YAO-SI: It’s so hard to say… _[Dramatic pause.]_ …but earlier today Aslan of Tanzaberia cornered me. He pushed me to the ground, and - _[restraining fake tears]_ \- and he told me I was _[chokes out word]_ UGLY!

PRINCESS #2: That… that BULLY! How dare he!

PRINCESS #4: Yeah! You’re the most handsome prince ever, Yao-Si!

YAO-SI: Do you really think so?

_[PRINCESSES nod and offer affirmations.]_

PRINCESS #3: We have to show that Aslan he can’t get away with this… but how?

YAO-SI: Well, I wouldn’t want him to turn against any of you beautiful ladies - I would just DIE if I thought you’d been hurt defending me… but I did hear Aslan is selling tickets for a concert tomorrow. And, you know, cruel people shouldn’t be rewarded with success…

 

_SCENE: Aslan is alone on a stage, holding his guitar. There are only 3 people in the audience: GRIFFIN the servant, Princess QING ZI-LIN, and PUNK KID who is blowing bubblegum._

ASLAN: _[to ZI-LIN]_   Where is everyone? We sold so many tickets!

ZI-LIN: Well I guess this explains why my brother’s been so cheerful today…

 

* * *

 

 

The summer Eiji was fifteen, the summer before he would go to high school, his father sent him to a summer camp outside of Nagoya’s urban sprawl. At the camp, which was an idyllic assemblage of cabins adjacent to a cerulean lake, Eiji made his first non-imaginary friend, a boy named Touma. Touma was taller than Eiji, and would have been described as pretty were it not for his studied projection of toughness. His hair was shaved close to his head, his clothes dark and deliberately ripped, and he displayed a practiced set of indifferent expressions and postures. But, as they spent the summer together, Eiji came to see the soft underbelly hidden beneath the posturing. Eiji surprised himself by developing a small but candy-sweet crush on his new friend, and for the first time since his mom died he would go hours or days without withdrawing into his imagination.

Eiji and Touma danced around each other for most of the summer, the gentle kiddish flirtation complicated and made dangerous by the fact that they were both boys. Eiji, of course, had known for years that he was the type of boy who loved boys, but as it turned out, acting on that knowledge was more difficult than he had pictured. And, unbeknownst to Eiji, Touma struggled even more with balancing his massive crush and his fear. That is, until the night of the camp dance, when Eiji and Touma slipped away to the boathouse. Hidden by dark walls and elated by the reflection of the moonlight on the still lake, a magnetic force seemed to draw the boys together in the warm summer night.

For the rest of the days at camp, buoyed by teenage hormones and the rush of secrecy, Eiji and Touma seized every chance to sneak away together and kiss, or talk, or try things with each other that they’d both been wondering about. One day, on a kayak in the middle of the lake, Eiji found himself telling Touma what he’d never told anyone before - the story of his years-long obsession with a young American TV show actor, and the fantastical world he held within his head. Even as the words spilled from his mouth, Eiji began to regret saying them. As he saw the bafflement and judgement in Touma’s eyes (there was also jealousy there, although Eiji never knew so) he knew he’d spoiled it, spoiled everything. This wasn’t something to share with others, wasn’t something the world would understand. His internal life, once so pristinely private, free from embarrassment and worldly expectations, was already compromised, already breached by shame. When Touma said, with an awkward laugh, that Eiji’s fantasies were “a little creepy,” Eiji laughed along and let the subject pass. Yet in that moment, Eiji’s infatuation popped, deflated like a balloon.

Eiji and Touma parted ways amicably when the camp ended, but the romance was over, and neither boy spoke of staying in touch. Far worse for Eiji than the end of the summer fling were the worries that now invaded his thoughts of Aslan, of his future. EIji had harbored dreams of going to America and finding Aslan, finding that Aslan felt the same instant recognition Eiji had experienced so intensely. Now Eiji couldn’t avoid the knowledge of how that dream seemed to others, how it bordered on stalking. Aslan would probably think so too, Eiji realized - might even be frightened by Eiji’s devotion.

The summer rushed to an end in what felt like the blink of an eye, and the time came for Eiji to begin high school. For the first time, Eiji threw himself into school, into society. He started making friends, became a model student and the rising star of his gymnastics team. The quiet boy at the back of the class, completely overlooked for so many years, was now the sweetheart of his high school, beloved for his friendly kindness and his talent. On some level Eiji was happy to discover this utterly unexpected popularity - his father certainly worried about him less, now - but more importantly, his social circle, his competitions, his schoolwork; the concrete obligations of normal life, kept him distracted. Only late at night would Eiji find himself mourning his childhood belief, and if the folders he filled with his art still contained sketches and watercolors of a boy with jade green eyes, well, no one but Eiji knew. 

 

* * *

 

 

**DINO GOLZINE, FATHER OF ASLAN GOLZINE, DIES OF HEART ATTACK**

Aslan Golzine has been one of Disney’s biggest kid stars for years. He’s made history for being the first African-American to star in a Disney Channel show, and won the hearts of girls around the world with his beautiful green eyes and soulful singing voice. As many of Aslan’s fans know, the now 16-year-old was cast out into the foster system at only 5 years old, until he was finally adopted by millionaire Hollywood producer, Dino Golzine. For years, the father-son pair have warmed hearts with their story, and with magazine spreads of the two of them spending time together in Golzine’s beautiful mansion in sunny Los Angeles. But few knew that Mr. Golzine has been struggling for years with heart disease… and tragically, this Sunday, the beloved father and producer died from a heart attack. Aslan’s agents have denied requests for an interview. You can only imagine the poor boy’s heartbreak! To lose his family a second time…

 

**Author's Note:**

> This story is set in an alternate reality where That's So Raven never aired on Disney Channel, which I guess makes it a dystopia. Also, the title 'dreams come true' is the Disney Channel slogan circa 2009.
> 
> I couldn't get this story idea out of my mind, I really hope other people enjoy it as much as I've enjoyed planning it. This story is going to break with canon in a lot of places, but I hope the characterization still feels true. 
> 
> By the way, "Princess" Zi-Lin is Shorter, and Yao-Si is obviously Yut-Lung. More on them in the next update, probably!
> 
> Please leave comments, I love feedback!


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